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Logan shook his head, his eyes wide. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s not in the city.”

But it would be. The diary had assured him of as much.

“What aren’t you telling me?” he asked, testing the Aether as he spoke. “What are you trying to hide?”

“I wouldn’t—” He stopped when Murphy’s hands landed on his shoulders. His eyes went wide. “Esta knows where the Book is going to be. She’s making plans.”

“Sit down, Logan.” James nodded to Murphy, who pressed Logan forcibly into the empty chair on the other side of the table. “I want to know what you found out. And this time you’ll tell me everything.”

He listened to the Aether as Logan evaded his questions, and the more he struggled, the more convinced James became that someone had gotten to him. He’d been compromised, likely by Darrigan. But the question was how—had he submitted to Darrigan’s magic of his own free will, or had he been trapped?

And could he still be used?

James considered him as he tested the Aether around him. The humming was insistent today, more unsettled than the usually buzzing unease he’d almost grown accustomed to.

The Conclave was coming, but he was no closer to understanding the directions fate would push him. And all the while, that incessant vibration in the Aether taunted him. He’d figure out soon what it meant and silence it once and for all.

“Do you trust me, Logan?” he asked.

“Sure, I trust you, James. You made me what I am—or you will.”

“I sincerely hope that isn’t true,” he said. “But I’m willing to give you another chance. Maybe you can make up for your failings.”

Logan licked his lips nervously. “Whatever you want, James.”

“Since you claim that you can’t bring me the Book and that you don’t know any of the traitors’ plans, maybe it’s time for you to make a statement of who you stand with and who you’re against.”

“You want me to take the mark.” The color drained from Logan’s face. “I don’t know…”

“That is the heart of the problem.” He leaned forward. “You don’t know. You’re unsure of where your loyalties lie.”

“No. That’s not it—”

“But it is,” he said sympathetically. “And I’m afraid I can only offer protection to those who are loyal to the Devil’s Own—those who are loyal to me alone. What are you afraid of, Logan? Darrigan stole the cane. The mark is nothing more than your promise to me and to those whom I protect.”

Logan swallowed hard, clearly understanding the threat. “Give me some time to think about it, would you? A day or two.”

If he gave Logan a day or two, he’d run straight to Esta. The truth was there, clear on his face.

James got to his feet. “You can have the night.” He gave Murphy another small nod, the indication that perhaps Logan would be more amenable to making that choice with a little encouragement.

He didn’t stay to watch what happened next. He didn’t particularly care. Logan would take the mark, or Murphy would take care of him. Either way, it didn’t seem to have solved anything. Despite pinning Logan into a corner, the Aether still hummed uncertainly.

Back in his own apartment, James took out the diary that Logan had brought him from his future self and again looked over the impossible pages, cursing their refusal to reveal everything as they once had. The future was his to make, to bend and form to his will, but for weeks now the diary had refused to show him the path.

Now something seemed to be changing. The future was coming into focus.

The Ars Arcana would soon come back into the city—this diary made that fact clear, and Logan had confirmed the truth of it. When it did, Esta and Darrigan would go after it. They and the other traitors would risk everything to try to take it back from Jack Grew, and James would let them.

The Aether vibrated with encouragement at this decision, and he knew it was the right path. He would let them fight, and then, when the risk was over, he would make them fall.

In the end, the Book would be his.

THE BIND

The Safe House

Esta was sitting next to Harte around the table in the back room of the safe house with Cela and Abel, waiting for the others to arrive. Jianyu and Viola would be along in a while as well, and then they could go over everything together. Until then, they had the news Abel brought them. The pressure he’d been helping apply to the Order seemed to be working, and he could get firsthand news outside the Brink that they could trust.